Technology As Innovator

Abstract

This article gives a guide on how to make profits from an enterprise’s Customer Supports function. Two advanced business opportunities are discussed. It also describes the impact of technology, process and strategy in the business renovation.

Customer Support: From the traditionally cost sector…

Customer Support function has long been considered a cost to business, as it rarely brings more values.

Well, is it the case? If it is accused to not bring values, is it possible that they did not attempt to get value from it?

…To getting golds back from the star-fruits quezacotl

“Vietnamese folklore goes that once upon a time, a man was very annoyed by a strange large bird eating the star-fruits in his garden. He tried to trap the creature and when he succeeded, the bird offered to carry him to a gold island to be released. The man became prosperous with the gold he picked from the isle after then.”

You can get a high Return on your Investment into Customer Support.

Many entrepreneurs know that good customer support is what makes customer happy and thus more willing to buy more and/or spread the good words. Customer Support has been recognized as a PR tool rather than.

Customer Support can be exploited to:

• Increase customer satisfaction
• Develop customer loyalty
• Make the current customers spread the good word: the famous word-of-mouth marketing technique
• Build a community of customers
• Enhance the brand of the enterprise

Now, let’s push it further than that.

(1) Customer Support to increase employee satisfaction

Employee satisfaction is an intangible value of any enterprise. In real life, business development and employee growth is generally mutual exclusive. A way to solve the dilemma will be discussed.

(2) Customer Support as competing Strategy

Becoming the first in the industry requires good Strategies. Maintaining the position requires better Strategies. With the rapid flourishment of the knowledge economy, technology has come in place to revolutionize strategic planning. More on strategies coming next…

How? The five steps

1. Just read

Before actually doing it, it’s advisable that you explore what need done in order to achieve your goal. This article’s got it all for you from a very high level view.

2. Automate it

Employees who do the Customer Supports are agents with specific customer management and troubleshooting skills.

Agents’ tasks are repetitive and require a high level of concentration and accuracy. On the other side, managers want to be updated periodically and recurrently without having to micro-manage. This can put a lot of pressure both employees and team leaders.

Ultimately, now that we are setting the business objective very high (remember all the items covered above?), it would be next to chaos if all things are done manually.

The work must be automated. It is then agents are provided with tools to complete their works, checklists so as not to miss any item and instant support when they need it. Managers receive reports, statistics and figures to analyze and make decisions. Furthermore, automation saves man-hours so the firm may concentrate on developing the most talented workers. Eventually, automation frees all levels from tedious and repetitive works to spend more time on thinking how to improve the process.

A system should be in place to do the harder works so that people can work smarter.

3. Establish a process to support it

For any system or workflow to work properly, the process must be modified to support it.

Process has to be defined so as to gradually switching from paper works to entering and obtaining information from the systems installed.

Re-defining the process is the next investment an enterprise has to spend. However, the Return on Investment shall be well worth it. With automation in place, costs of some processes themselves will be cut down significantly.

For example, it used to take at least 15 minutes to search for a file of a customer in a heap of documents. Now it takes maximum 15 seconds to get all information of that customer by searching in database. That makes it 32 times faster!

So far, Statement (2) has been explained.

4. Mean to really support it

When the system and the process has been in place is the time for training and changing the habit of users. Training effectively has been difficult enough, making a change is even more.

It requires high commitment and strong confidence from Board of Management to request, encourage and motivate employees into the new environment.

Eventually, only if the change is seen as the key strategy to compete will all of its potentials be unlocked. Nothing is more powerful than union between all attending parties, strategies, processes and the product.

5. Let the whole world know

Just what are you waiting for? Let the whole world know
that you’re different,
that you have leaped ahead of all your competitors,
that your customers will be served the best way possible.

Life Business prospect has never been as bright.

Case Study

Suppose you’re the owner of an electronics retailing chain.

You may want to know the level of satisfaction of your customer. You will conduct a survey using Customer Relationship Management System (CRM). Since most of your market segments use the Internet regularly, it is easier to release the survey in electronic format.

To ensure that the survey is done correctly, you may want to arrange your agents to help/guide your (potential) customers through the survey. How do you know if your agents are doing well? Start the Quality Monitoring (QM) System. It will track the interaction between you agents and customers, be the media text chats, audio or video. After saving the interaction, you can always review and remark the performance of any specific agents.

Oh! Some agents are not doing as well as you expected. What will you do? It’s suggested that you review their skill set and portfolio in the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) to make judgment on how to grow them to the required level.

After obtaining the information on the agents, you may want to send them to Training. Today, training doesn’t have to be formal classes with costly instructors from outside. For your information, thousands - I mean hundreds of thousands - training courses, from business to technical, from soft skills to customer management, have been packaged in the form of e-Learning, delivered to your PC, and always ready to launch.

After the training, expect “Wow!” expressions from your beloved customers!

Now that your employees receive adequate feedback of their performance and personalized training addressing their gaps. Their productivity and loyalty will increase proportionally. Happier agents, happier customers too. By the way, has this solved the problem (1) listed above?

The whole process covered above should always be put under supervision. Thank goodness, software can do the micro-tracking for you. With information collected, it is time for Information Analytics power to shine. You can ‘teach’ the software to ‘know’ your Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and it will compare the actual performance against your goals to produce conclusion, warnings and predictions.

At the very end of the process, Reports only need to be generated for You to know everything you want, with as few key hits as you want.

Notes

Please note that while I described this scenario for Customer Support only, similar approach can be used on a wide range of business functions: sales to production management, delivery to marketing. Software can be much more powerful if you know how to exploit them.

The case above involves several systems/modules. Theoretically, CRM and HRM systems are typical of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems; Quality Monitoring, Training, KPI are typical of Workforce Optimization Systems.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that from my analysis, Customer Support should no longer be considered a cost. Instead, it brings more opportunities if it is used the right way, is supported with functional systems and appropriate processes and is lead by a clear strategy.

Acknowledgment

with special thanks to:

Gideon Schipper, Business Analyst Manager, First Consulting Group Vietnam

Minh Nguyen, Business Analyst, First Consulting Group Vietnam

Phuc Nguyen, ASEAN System Manager, Procter & Gamble

Apart from motivationally writing for the web, I have been invited to universities as a motivational speaker to talk about the IT industry and IT occupations with IT students.

What question do you think is most frequently asked?

What programming languages and tools are currently used in your company?

It is not a surprising one because the same question has been asked much more frequently on technical forums and newsgroup and has caused so much debates on T-tool vs. U-tool and more heatedly, X-language vs. Y-language.

And my answer is

“It is nice that you are preparing the knowledge and skills that you think your potential employers will seek. However, skills and experience in a particular programming language is not the only technical skill employers seek in candidates. They’re also looking into the foundation technical knowledge, such as but not limited to: Object Orientation, Design skills, Software Methodologies, Data Structures and Algorithms, Database Design, Architecture, Computing Theory, that empower your programming skills. You may do programming with, let’s say, Java relatively well in some situations without the above knowledge, but if you are thrown into a more complex project to build a huge product, the risk is high.

One example. You spend two to four years in college polishing your skills in X language that you predict will (still) be hot in a few years when you graduate. When you do graduate and apply for jobs, if they say “Sorry, X is old. We’re needing Y people”, what will you do? Spend the same amount of time learning Y? No, it’s not the way it should work. Foundation knowledge is the root, languages and tools are leaves. Equip yourself with the foundation, and when technology changes (is IT a slow changing area that does not change every 6 month or so?), you can adapt more easily.

When you have mastered the foundation knowledge, and possessed significant experience in using programming languages, which IDE is not a bug big issue.

Besides, about recruitment, technical skills are not the only evaluation criterion. Think about soft skills and attitude too.”

I was thinking about my profession

The number of Business Analysts and System Analysts required in software companies is not that many compared to developers; in some smaller companies with less formal process definition, some developers take the Analyst role. If the need for Analysts were higher, this question could have been asked: “What modeling languages and tools are currently used in your company?”

The answer is simple: Unified Modeling Language. UML itself has been a well-established language for modeling. More of a reason why it has become so popular is due to the promotion of UML by RUP.

But once again, UML is a language. The case is not much different from that of programming languages. Knowing UML is not enough to perform all tasks Analysts do, Business Process Modeling for instance - and a new standardized set of notations named BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) is being proposed.

Underlying UML skills are Modeling skills. Modeling languages are used to present information in a more visual (and structural?) way. You need to know what model or diagram should be used to present what kind of information at what time in what situation to whom.

Model is one kind of information. In order to develop solid Modeling skills, Information Processing skills and Data Analysis skills need to be developed first or in parallel.

With all those skills at hand, you will be able to guess how shapes are categorized and may quickly locate the right notations you need in Modeling tools, no matter if it’s Rational Rose or Visio or Enterprise Architect or so on.

After you have created a good piece of model, you may want to present it to customers or other teams in your project. Presentation skills may help.

Side discussion: Model vs. Diagram

Throughout this article, I have used Models consistently, without mentioning diagrams. The may raise question since “UML diagram” is a very common terminology. The reason is because Analysts produce visualizations which are not diagrams too. Organization charts, map, prototype are just a few to name. ‘Model’ covers all of these, of course including diagrams. Also, one trivia is that the word may remind the fact that information systems actually model the real world.

Conclusion

So to conclude, foundation knowledge is required in any profession. Technology and tools change so quickly, but concepts do not as quickly. Build your internal strength should be the higher priority.

“Still waters run deep” - Shakespeare

Abstract

This article clarifies certain myths about introverted people and proposes solutions for extraverts to communicate better with introverts and for introverts to take advantage of their strengths

1. Myths

1.1. Introverts are asocial

Not true. Some introverts are very sociable they do well in social settings and public speaking. Some even succeed in areas commonly considered fitting for extroverts: marketing, sales, journalism.

Some introverts might have lots of friends and are good at networking. There’s nothing to be surprised. Introverts’ social capability is perfectly normal, it’s just that they direct energy inward.

1.2. Introversion is something to overcome

Not true. Introversion is an orientation and it has its own advantages. Many scientists and philosophers are introverts, and their cogitation is the root of technological and social evolution.

1.3. Introverts usually have lower self-esteem

This is an arguable misconception. Because introverts don’t talk much about themselves doesn’t necessarily mean that they often feel bad about themselves, or that they have no interesting things to tell. They just don’t talk much about themselves and fullstop.

With introspection as one of primary activities, introverts tend to understand their problems and conditions better, then communicate and solve the problems. Because they talk about or appear to solve their problems more often doesn’t necessarily mean that they have more problems.

1.4. Introverts are arrogant

Not true. When they remain silent, it’s not because they ignore the other but that they’re deep in thoughts.

1.5. Introverts spend a lot of time thinking

Or more correctly, to reflect. They spend a lot of time, especially when being alone, for thinking, introspection and reflecting their activities in their own mirror. This habit dominates life of an introvert.

Introverts tend to think deeply before they speak or act.

1.6. Introverts hate conversations

Not true. Introverts enjoy conversations with small groups of close friends. They engage in expressing ideas and concepts. They are attracted to abstraction and the big-pictures.

1.7. Introversion is stable

Not true. Extraversion/introversion is suggested to be continuum. A person who acts introverted in one scenario may act extraverted in another, and people can learn to act “against type” in certain situations. Jung’s theory states that when someone’s primary function is extraverted, his secondary function is always introverted (and vice versa).

2. Communicate with introverts

Accept their need for space and time alone. They can enjoy social get-togethers, but normally they’ll need to time alone to ‘recharge’ afterwards.

They love insightful comments. Give them plenty.

Introverts are usually disheartened by unempathic or ‘ingenuous’ extraverts, and become even more withdrawn. Those who don’t understand introverts may complain “They can just say outloud what they want!” May I remind you that introverts don’t talk much about themselves? They don’t say it often enough, that’s why I am doing this.

Allow them lots of time when they think, and expect well-established response.

3. Introversion IS an advantage

Chance to avoid mistakes when saying or acting what have been thought through. Moreover, carefully analyzed arguments are more solid and thorough.

Self-motivated and independent, introverts require little external driving force.

Introverts enjoy close and loyal relationship.

Patient, empathic and considerate, introverts make good listeners and win charisma through in-depth coverage of matters.

Introverts easily concentrate and usually absorb lots of information from observations.

4. Traps of introversion

Introverts might as well be aware of some traps that could harm their health and relationship.

4.1. Trap of melancholy

Some introverts may even enjoy lonesome melancholy. This is harmful to their health.

4.2. Trap of abstraction

Attending to abstraction may drive introverts away from details. Some are not comfortable with analyzing data and try to avoid doing it.

4.3. Trap of morality

Introverts have high sense of value and moral. Sometimes they can become too rigid or over-critical when they consider things are going beyond their ethical boundaries.

4.4. Ignoring being misunderstood deepens misunderstanding

5. Reference

Jonathan Rauch, Caring for your Introvert

Marti Laney, The Introvert Advantage

Carol Bainbridge, Definition of Introvert - What is an Introvert?

6. Acknowledgment

Thanks to all, without whose discussions I couldn’t have possibly understood the topic.

Hien Nguyen, General Director, UniMEx

Liep Nguyen, General Director, QT Supply

Linh Le, Bachelor of Commerce, RMIT University

Hanh Truong, Bachelor programme in Social Sciences, Singapore Management University

Hoa Lam, Bachelor of Business, Illinois State University

Duong Nguyen, Bachelor of Education, University of Education

Minh Nguyen, Business Analyst, First Consulting Group